Casino gaming has long been a very successful business. Despite having full knowledge that they have little chance of winning, the allure of the winning a lot of money draws millions of players a year. Whether they play blackjack, any of several varieties of poker, roulette, or slot machines, players dream of beating the house against the odds, and walking away with a big payoff.
In an effort to keep people coming back despite losing money, casinos have implemented a number of changes in recent years. Gone are the days when casinos were dimly lit rooms filled with dense smoke. Today, casinos are air conditioned, well ventilated, and brightly lit. New methods of increasing payouts, such as progressive jackpots, entice players to groups of machines, rather than individual, specific machines. And recognizing that players travel with their families, casinos provide entertainment to non-players, such as children, as well.
One technique casinos have been using of late to keep old players and lure new players is with identification cards. By signing up for an identification card with the casino, players can earn points toward bonuses, designed to encourage loyalty to a particular casino. The identification cards also provide a bonus to the casino: the casino gets information about the player's playing habits.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic of several slot machines in a casino. Slot machines 105, 110, and 115 are all connected to central station 120. The slot machines, like slot machine 105, all provide slot 125 for players to insert an identification card. As players play on slot machines 105, 110, and 115, assuming they insert their identification cards into slot 125, the player's history can be stored for later analysis within central station 120 (for example, on a server).
In the past, creating accounts for players has been a manual operation. Players typically fill out a form, providing their name, address, telephone, and other personal information. The form is then delivered to data entry personnel, who type the information into a computer system. Eventually, a player identification card is generated and mailed to the player. All this takes time: often weeks pass between when the player fills out the form and when the player receives the player identification card.
In addition, players can forget to bring their player identification card with them when they visit the casino. Without the player identification cards, accessing the player accounts typically requires generating a new player identification card. This process, too, takes time.
Accordingly, a need remains for a way to allow players to create and access player tracking system accounts.